“Are you sure, you are going to be okay?” Sienna asked for the third time as they walked to the dance studio. “If you need backup, I’m a text away.”
Giggling, Callie nodded. “I got it. I’ll be fine, Sienna. Previews are in one week. I just have to hold on for a few more and then I’ll be graduating. And I’ll say goodbye to these four walls that tortured me for years.”
Sienna offered her a kind smile. “Never change, Callie. Even if you’re screwing the biggest, meanest alpha male in town, never change.”
“What the hell?” Callie laughed, shushing her friend. “Shut up or you’ll start rumors again.”
“Sorry, don
She saw red. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t touching those girls, he allowed them to touch him, caress him like they were his and he was theirs.Callie was used to being indifferent, but now that her mood was ruined, she was feeling petty.“Callie! What are you doing here?” asked a dancer who greeted her with a warm hug. “We rarely see you around this time.”That’s right, Callie stayed away from the Tomb at night. It was her first time back underground since the night of the fire. Though she spent time here before to help the refugees, they had been safely transferred to the shelter, there was no reason for her to come down here. She had no idea that the underground club was already up an
Taking the challenge, Callie skipped the foreplay altogether and opened her mouth, fully relaxing her jaw to take all of Vin’s length. She licked and sucked his cock all while staring up at him through her eyelashes. She looked fucking sexy and she knew it.She saw it in Vin’s expression, he was enjoying this blowjob as much as she did. Vin, then, grabbed a handful of her hair and none too gently pulled her off his dick. He tugged hard and she knew her scalp would hurt the next day. He angled Callie’s face up to stare at her fucked-out expression. She was breathing heavily, drool and precum dripping from her chin.“I don’t share,” said Vin keeping his hold on her firm even as Callie scoffed and glared at him.“And you think I do?&rdq
“You’re out of your fucking mind, Vin.”“Good morning to you too, Soren.”Vin rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and started to get up but something or rather someone prevented him from doing so.Callie was sprawled over his body, her head resting on his chest. Flashbacks of them together filtered into his mind and Vin smirked at the memory. He checked the time on his phone, barely dawn. It was early and they’d had quite the workout last night, he would let Callie sleep.Carefully, Vin pulled away from her and quietly padded outside of his bedroom where he could talk to Soren without the worry of waking Callie up.&ld
"You look nice,” Sienna greeted when Callie finally got out of her morning rehearsals. She had been waiting by the rehearsal studio, to get some lunch with Callie. Since the recent scandal with Vin’s donation, Sienna had been keeping close tabs on her friend, in fear that she might be hiding her true emotions about the matter. She didn’t want Callie to feel alone. “It’s perfect for a picnic date. Did Vin pick that out for you?”Smiling, Callie did a little spin, showing off the peach ankle-length dress she sported, and like the supportive friend that she was, Sienna clapped for her.“Cut it out,” Callie scolded. “I’m mad at you.”“What did I do?” Sienna asked,
Mei’s words danced around Callie’s mind even as she was occupied, chatting with some women at the shelter. She indeed wanted all of Vin’s attention but the implications of her involvement with him were starting to come to light.Beside her, Sienna was casually distributing the pastries they brought with them.“Oh, excuse me,” Sienna began, pointing to their nearly empty basket of popsicles. “I’m sure we bought enough for each of the children, but it seems two aren’t here…”Purposely letting the sentence hang in the air, Sienna carefully observed everyone’s reactions. Two of the caretakers looked at each other before smiling brightly.“Oh, they&
“You look nice,” said Vin as soon as he saw Callie, announcing his entrance.Veronica had done a marvelous job altering the dress he had picked out for the night. The corset bodice of the baby pink dress hugged her torso perfectly, and the lace-up straps, highlighted her curves in all the right places.Specks of glitter decorated the long flowing fabric of the skirt that reached her ankles, sparkling in the warm light of the studio.Callie’s lips automatically tugged up into a smile upon hearing the crime lord’s voice. She wasn’t expecting him to pick her up from the atelier.Without turning, she spotted Vin in the mirror, dressed in a matching black button-down shirt and pants.
The inside of the mansion was unlike what Callie had imagined. The moment she and Vin walked in, Schubert filtered into her ears played by a skilled string quartet. Their coats were taken by what Callie could only assume was a butler, before greeting them with a warm smile. “Welcome back, Master Vincent,” the man said, to which Vin smiled and nodded. Callie tried to control her reaction to Vin being called Master Vincent, but the crime lord caught the subtle lift of her lips. He leaned down and whispered into her ear. “What? Surprised you’re not the only one who calls me Master?” Blushing up to the tips of her ears, Callie hid a smile behind her hand. “Master, if you will.” The butler then approached Vin again, this time with a silver tray. Vin smirked, before unstrapping a harness for his Glock and placing it on top of the tray that the servant had taken away graciously. “Everyone is to lay down all weapons before entering,” the crime lord explained. Callie laughed, she could
The appetizer was served and cleared without a hitch. Save for a few sneers and fake smiles, Callie had managed to keep it together. Nobody seemed to be too interested in talking to her, as most of the conversation was led by Vin and his Aunt Lucille, who kept peering at her like a farm animal.Callie kept to herself, quietly observing. She noticed how each person seated at the table had another member, perhaps a bodyguard or an attendant standing right behind them. Every person except Vin and herself. They all looked tough, including the women.“Callie,” she heard her name be called. Looking up from her plate, Callie turned toward the male who spoke. “Don’t you work at that club in the outskirts? What was it called again?” The man tapped a finger to his templ
Fresh out of the bath, Callie softly called out that she was done.The woman who had prepared the bath for her entered with a white fluffy towel draped on one arm, and a salve resting in her other hand.“Thank you…” Callie started when the woman handed her the towel.“Nabi,” the woman answered, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.“Thank you, Nabi. I’m Callie.”Nabi offered a small smile as Callie slipped into a fresh white robe, then she led the singer to sit in front of the vanity.“I’ve heard your name before,” said Nabi as she pulled one drawer open to grab a brush. Slowly, she took a section of Callie’s hair and started to brush it.Callie didn’t ask her to elaborate. Somehow, people knew her name by her association with Vin, and every time, nothing good came out of it.They stayed silent even as Nabi pulled the hair dryer out of another drawer and started to dry Callie’s hair. The blonde brushed and pulled sections of Callie’s hair and pinned them away from her face in
Callie’s ears rang with Cullen’s howling of frustration but her mind remained on the memory of Vin. His words, no matter how hurtful, his touch no matter how brief.She couldn’t look him in the eyes, feeling disgusted to put on display like that to a man who threw her out once. But she caught glimpses of him. His tired eyes, the downward curve of his mouth, the way his shoulders sagged a bit, these were details only Callie noticed. To anyone else, Vin was a picture of a bored man, but Callie saw through the façade. She saw the darkness that ringed his eyes, his pale skin, and sunken cheeks. Her stomach twisted with worry that he hadn’t been eating well.Maybe he’d changed his mind. Perhaps he’d come to save me, Callie thought earlier. But Vin’s words cut too deeply to be fake. She was a passing plaything. And she will never be more, because Vin had cast her aside for the second time.Callie’s empty stomach tightened as she swallowed the bile that threatened up her throat. Disgust cra
Vin drummed his fingers onto the tabletop of Cullen Reich’s private game room. The wait was pissing him off. He had a clear idea why Cullen ever so politely invited him into his territory and into his private establishment.“He’s going to gloat,” said Soren during their earlier meeting. “Callie will be there, that’s given. But we have no news whatsoever after her location was confirmed. We don’t know if…”“We don’t know if she’s alright,” Vin finished for him. “She’s alive. That much, I’m certain. He wouldn’t call me out like this otherwise.”The date of their meeting came. Two full days after Callie left, no, since Callie was taken.Vin reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a small flask. The whiskey burned down his throat, but it did nothing to ease his nerves.On the outside, he was a picture of calm, but the storm in his eyes betrayed his exterior.Callie was somewhere in Reich’s territory. The plan was already in place, he only needed to set a few more pieces on the board
Callie woke up shivering and sputtering the water that was thrown in her face. Disoriented and cold, she was pulled from the floor and forced to sit in a wooden chair.“Tie her legs and arms,” said a voice she vaguely recognized. “I don’t want her filth touching me.”Callie’s head pounded along with the throbbing ache in her jaw. She ran her tongue across her lips, surprised when she tasted copper upon them. The slap from earlier must have left a cut. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt her wrists being bound together by zip ties, followed by her ankles.“Is she alive? Wake up, darling.” It was the same voice, deep and masculine, but it held a sinister vibe that Callie couldn’t help but shiver. Another splash.Sputtering and coughing, she slowly opened her eyes, groaning when the bright overhead light invaded her vision, worsening her headache.Memories came flooding back after she’d regained her bearings.She had been kidnapped; beaten; drugged three times with sedatives; and now
Ella stared at Vin’s back wondering what the best way to murder him was. She’d asked him—no, begged him before not to hurt Callie, and yet he still did.The doctor waited until Liam was out of earshot before she spoke, and she didn’t bother disguising the venom in her voice.“You fucked up,” she told him icily. “You fucked up big time, Vin. Callie is a one-in-a-million. No, one in a zillion!” Ella watched Vin’s shoulders straighten as he faced her, his face a mask of indifference. “You’ll never find another woman like her, and you gave her up just like that, for what?”Vin’s skull throbbed with a migraine on top of the ache he felt in his right thigh. With his hands fisted at his sides, he fought through the pain to answer Ella.“I didn’t give her up,” he replied. “I gave her freedom.”His voice sounded strained and tired, but it held a hint of doubt.“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Ella scoffed. “You’re an idiot.”She turned his back on him and started to put away the
The air in Vin’s office seemed to thin by the minute. It had not been a day, and yet Callie’s absence weighed on him like they had been apart for years.There was only so much he could do to distract himself from the fact, but Sienna, Callie’s best friend was not making it easy for him.“How could you?” Sienna asked, disbelief thick in her voice. Vin didn’t need to look up from his laptop to know she was glaring at him. He had enough on his plate, Sienna’s outburst was the least of his priorities, but Raleigh’s presence warranted the crime lord’s attentionRaleigh was like a son to Vin, so when he looked up and saw confusion and disbelief in Raleigh’s eyes, Vin’s chest pricked.“I never question you, Vin. You know that,” the boxer said in a low, even voice. “But this is just wrong. You know more than anyone that Callie belonged here with us.”A muscle throbbed at Vin’s jaw upon hearing those words.“That’s enough,” he growled. “I don’t need any of your opinions, and I do not appreciate
Callie’s heart thudded in her ears. Nothing registered except for the pain, so much pain that she couldn’t tell what was hurting.It was like Vin ripped her heart out from her chest, dropped it on the ground, and stomped on it with heavy boots.Tears blurred her sight, she struggled to pull herself and the suitcases out of the elevator, and once the doors closed behind her, she collapsed.It was over.She hit the ground hard, scraping her knees and palms, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain in her chest.She sobbed into her hands, crying out, uncaring that a few stories above her, Vin was probably hearing her as he sipped on his drink, uncaring.The tears were unrelenting as was the stabbing in her heart. She sat on the ground, crying until no more tears fell from her eyes. She cried until she felt exhaustion wrapping its arms around her. She needed to leave before she collapsed in front of Vin’s elevator.Mustering the strength to stand was equivalent to squeezing her heart
Soren stared at Vin, worried about his friend. He had suspected that the letter would contain some kind of message from Jimmy, but he didn’t want to break the news to Vin. There was no way to make this easy for him.Vin could lie to himself all he wanted, but anyone with eyes could see that he was in love with Callie. And his reaction to the letter he held in his hands was proof of that.“Callie’s free,” Vin whispered a second before crumpling the piece of paper in his hand.The world seemed to spin around Vin. Callie had been a constant in his life for only a few months, but he knew he couldn’t live without her.Everything in him screamed not to let her go. To find an alternative. To buy her back. But another part of him, the moral side of him, knew that Callie deserved to be free.That deal was to play with her, right? Never did he think he’d be this devastated when this day finally came.Callie wasn’t a bird trapped in his cage anymore, and she deserved to see the world, as the wor
“Where are we going?” asked Liam as he sucked on his chocolate drink. Vin helped him get strapped into his seat in the back. “Home. We’ve been gone for too long.” Callie looked at Vin nervously, but she managed to plaster a smile on for Liam. “You hear that Liam? We’re going home!” she said excitedly, buckling her own seatbelt. She turned to Vin then. “You okay?” Vin glanced over at Callie as he eased the car out onto the highway. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” But Callie could tell something was wrong. Something had been wrong since the night of her attempted kidnapping. Had she said something to piss Vin off? But if she had, then he would have called her out on it already. Vin wasn’t the type of person to hold back on her punishments if she needed it. So, what was wrong now? “We’re driving straight home,” said Vin after a couple of minutes on the road. “If you need something, just let me know. We can pull over for food or bathroom breaks.” Callie’s eyebrows scrunched together